Planning a trip next year to either the eastern part of Kansas or Missouri for flipping, and I'm interested in finding out when would be the best time to head out. I'm from SoCal (San Fernado Valley area) and our flipping season runs from about the end of Feb to the end of April depending on the weather. Any help in planning this hopefully epic adventure is greatly appreciated.

It is extremely weather-dependent, and the weather can fluctuate more profoundly than coastal areas tend to do. GENERALLY speaking, and only my experience (others' may vary), March through June can be good, and April-May are optimal within that window. However, 2012 was an unusually warm year so the good times started in March.

May is a great month in almost any locality, but if you want to road cruise, later in summer might be better. I was in Eastern Kansas and Oklahoma in May a few years back and the night cruising wasn't very good. I think it depends on what you want to do, and/or see. We saw some great animals flipping, but missed some road cruising.

Flipping the Flint Hills is epic and overwhelming for someone who's into flipping. There are so many distinct areas in Kansas or Missouri that you should probably draw up a list that you want to see then make an agenda based on that list. Meaning make your way through both states hitting the areas you need to go to for the species you want.

Western Kansas is nothing like Eastern Kansas, and the Ozarks are different than other parts of Missouri. I don't think you can go wrong in either state and will likely get lots of help from the locals.

Justin, my best friend and I had a blast in central and eastern KS three yrs. ago. We are birders also, but the flipping was great in May, especially in the Flint Hills. I had herped s.e. OK a couple yrs. earlier and road cruised many interesting species in the Ouachita Mtns. during the summer. One that I currently work with at home is considered a Great Plains ratsnake by most, but to me it is surely a Slowinski's corn. I'm anxious to see if the scrub ratsnake from the Ozark's of MO is really a GP ratsnake or a Slowinski's corn. I would like to make it out to MO one of these springs.

Thanks a bunch, guys. I'm shooting for the beginning of May. Gonna get ahold of one of those DeLorme road maps (i'm old school, no gps yet) and start marking out some areas of interest in the eastern part of Kansas and the western part of Missouri. I got hooked when a fellow herper showed me some pics of some gorgeous syspila. I also heard there are holbrooki there. I'm intersted to see if they're as pretty as the Louisisana ones. Happy herping.

Gonna get ahold of one of those DeLorme road maps (i'm old school, no gps yet) and start marking out some areas of interest in the eastern part of Kansas and the western part of Missouri.

I used to use the DeLorme "gazetteers." Google Earth/Google Maps is cheaper and more effective due to the satellite imagery. Find an area of interest, switch to the "map" view (vs. satellite), and print. Better than buying the whole gazetteer and using 6 or 7 pages.

I like GPS units in Kansas. Once years ago without one Pingle and I are lost. We have a Gazeeter spread across the hood and a good ole boy pulls up. We said can you tell us what town we're in, we seem to have gotten turned around. There were no street signs, no signs of civilization, I loved it. So this good ole boy simply says in response to us, you're never lost with Jesus brother, and drove off. Whoo boy, I wished I would have had a GPS unit.

Darren,

The holbrooki are nuts in Kansas. I mean you will be jumping up and down and squeeling. The syspila and gentilis are awesome too.

Terry,I'm not sure about the GPR/slowinski debate. Can you explain your position?

Terry,I'm not sure about the GPR/slowinski debate. Can you explain your position?

I'm not sure this is the best place to do that, as it's Reako's post; but my position is that the scrub rats from s/e OK and s/w AR are slowinskii, not emoryi. I'm wondering if the slowinskii make it up into s. MO.

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